A Date with Dave
by SillyOldThing
Summary: David Rossi had plans for a romantic night on the town, when things take an unexpected turn for the bizarre. Ch. 3 Up!
1. A Date With Dave

**A Date with Dave**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. Dag nabbit!**

_"Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary._ Louisa May Alcott.

David Rossi stuffed his cell into his pocket and got back in his car .He had believed tonight was going to be the perfect night. For the first time in a long time, he was actually excited about taking a woman on a date. It was almost if the stars were in perfect alignment. The woman in question had accepted his offer of dinner, they were not called out on a case and the most prestigious expensive romantic restaurant in town had given him a reservation. Of course he had to name drop a little and cajole and seduce a bit, but he felt this woman was worth it. He had made sure that this was going to be a special evening, that was until his date cancelled at the last minute. She was a OB-GYN and one of her patients had the nerve to go into labour. He pretended to be ok with it; in reality he was beyond disappointed. He had pre-ordered dinner and wine, and went to great pains to ensure everything was perfect. There was also the fact that this evening was going to cost him a bundle whether he showed up or not. The restaurant had his credit card info and they were not afraid to use it.

His cell phone began to vibrate; It was Hotch.

"Dave, it's me"

"Yeah I know, what's up?"

Hotch noticed Rossi's tone "I'm not interupting something am I?"

Rossi sighed, "Unfortunately no, what can I do for you Hotch?"

"I know you took the Sanderson file with you, and I was wondering if you would mind dropping if off at Reids. I want him to have a good look at it before he goes into court tomorrow."

Now if Rossi had been on his date he would have told Hotch to jump into the Potomic, as it was he now had nothing better to do.

"Yeah sure, Reid isn't that far away"

"Great, thanks, and Dave?"

"Yes Aaron."

"Try and cheer up a little."

Rossi grumbled something into the phone and hung up.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Fifteen minutes later Rossi stood at the door to Reid's apartment. He rapped on the door. It startled him a bit when Reid answered immediately.

"Whoa! Were you standing right at the door" Rossi asked as he walked into Reid's small apartment.

Reid smiled, "Kind of, Hotch told me you were coming"

David looked around Reid's apartment. It was small and a lot more cosy than he expected. There were shelves lined with books but not as many as he thought there would be, everthing was in soft warm earth tones and the furniture looked comfortable and understated. It looked like the home of a lonely professor. In a lot of ways the apartment kind of looked like... Reid.

Reid stood there waiting for Dave to say something.

Rossi became aware of his own silence "Yeah! Here's the file, I'll get going and let you finish whatever it was you were doing".

"I was just about to have dinner actually."

Rossi looked at the dining room table, On it stood a box of honey nut cheerios and a carton of milk and a was a box of powdered doughnuts as well. _'That must be dessert' _Dave thought.

"Reid, is that your dinner?"

"Um yes, I don't stock up my fridge too much, we're always on the road plus I like cereal."

_'No wonder you look like a pipe cleaner with eyes,' _Dave couldnt help thinking_._

Reid stood there staring at him. Spencer was still dressed in his work clothes. He noted Rossi was a lot more dressed up than usual.

"Are you going somewhere special David?"

Rossi smirked. "I was, my date had to cancel."

"Oh, sorry," Reid felt a little uncomfortable. Talking about dates wasn't his area of expertise.

Rossi took a look at the gangly young man and his horrid bowl of cereal and thought _'What the hell.'_

"Reid, I still have the reservations and I'm hungry as hell. Would you like to come to dinner with me?"

"Uh what... yes... what? I mean yes." He stammered.

"Well c'mon then, put away your gourmet treat there, get your ass in gear and let's get going."

Such a warm invitation was almost impossible to resist.

TBC : Next chapter, dinner.

Please read and review. Thank you.


	2. Dinner With Dave

**Dinner with Dave**

Disclaimer: I do not own criminal minds.

_'Food is not about impressing people, it's about making them feel comfortable.' _ Ina Garten.

&&&&&&&&&

The minute Dave Rossi walked up to the maitre'd in the restaurant; he began to think he had made a mistake. He saw the man's lips curve into a

small smile when he saw Spencer.

"I'm David Rossi, I have a reservation for eight o' clock." he said quietly.

"Of course sir; gentlemen, please follow me, " He led the two agents into a beautifully decorated, romantically lit dining room.

Rossi suddenly felt very conspicuous; he wished he had phoned and let them know his dinner companion had changed. Reid, on the other hand, was too busy looking around the restaurant to notice the attention he seemed to be attracting. The maitre 'd sat them down at a table for two. Dave noticed that there were couples all around them, including a pair of middle aged gentlemen who sat directly behind Spencer. The heavier of the two was casting appreciative glances Reid's way until his companion with the fading blond hair kicked him under the table.

Rossi ignored them. The maitre' d who resembled a young Antonio Banderas bent down and whispered in Rossi's ear.

"We have made this as special as possible Mr Rossi. I think you and your date will be greatly pleased."

"Yeah, about that.." Rossi didn't finish, for another man suddenly appeared at their table.

"Bonjour, I am Rene, it will be my pleasure to serve you tonight!" The Antonio Banderas look-alike clapped Rene on the back.

"Take good care of them Rene, Mr Rossi has a special guest." He gave Dave a wink and left. Rene presented Reid with a lovely long stemmed pink Rose.

"For you Monsiour."

Rossi felt his face turn red. He had forgot about the rose. What had seemed romantic when he requested it, now seemed incredibly corny.

Reid took the rose puzzled, he looked at Dave. "Pink?"

"Yes pink, why not?"

"I'm just surprised, most people would have selected a red rose. They are traditionally given to signify love and romance, the pink rose however is a symbol of grace and elegance. They are usually given as an expression of admiration, gratitude and appreciation." Reid said as he fiddled with the flower.

The waiter was impressed. "My goodness, intelligent as well as handsome" He gushed.

Reid turned and smiled at him. "That's funny, a hooker in Vegas said exactly the same thing to me."

The waiter stared open-mouthed at Reid.

"How about some drinks?" Rossi said, wishing to change the subject.

"Ah yes sir, we have the wine that you ordered right here on ice as requested."

"That's great, but I think I need a bourbon right away"

"I'll just have wine." said Reid.

Rene uncorked the wine and poured a small glass for Rossi to sample.

"It's fine, very good," He said brusquely.

The waiter poured a glass for Reid and turned to Rossi, "Might I add sir, you have excellent taste." His eyes quickly darted over to Reid. "I will get your bourbon for you."

Reid studied Rossi for a moment.

"Dave, do you always go to this much trouble for your dates?"

Rossi closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. "I don't think I went to this much trouble for any of my marriages."

Before Reid could comment any furthur Rene returned and set down a large plate of raw osyters. "Bon appetite!"

Rossi grabbed a tiny fork and began to help himself. He noticed Reid staring at the plate. "Something wrong?" He said as he pulled the osyter out of it's shell and slid it into his mouth.

Red picked up a rather large shell and studied it.

"Bivalve Mollusks, often thought of as an aphrodisiac. Some American and Italian researchers have claimed that the oyster is rich in rare amino acids that trigger increased levels of sex hormones."

"I'll try and control myself," Deadpanned Rossi as he reached for another one.

"Did you know," Said Reid, going into lecture mode, "-that osyters are bisexual or bi-gender? They propagate by shooting sperm into the water, then years later when they've matured they spawn as females by releasing eggs."

Rossi stopped and blinked at Reid. "Are you saying oysters can literally fuck themselves?"

"No no not really, you see..."

Rossi interupted. "Reid just eat one, try it."

Reid tentatively put the large oyster into his mouth and began to chew and chew and chew.

"Just swallow it, don't chew."

Reid continued to chew. "I'm trying to define the texture" He mumbled, his mouth full.

"Well you're not supposed to, just swallow."

Reid continued to chew.

"REID, YOU HAVE TO SWALLOW!"

Several diners looked their way. The two older gentlemen behind Reid gave Rossi a reproachful look. Just then a man holding a classical guitar approached their table. He bowed to both of them and launched into playing a passionate rendition of _'Forbidden Games.' _Reid grinned at Rossi.

"I didn't order this." Dave groaned. He listened politely, then sent the guitarist away. Rossi leaned over the table.

"Reid, everybody here thinks we're on a date."

"Yes, I gathered that when I was given the rose."

"It doesn't bother you?"

Reid shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really care if people think I'm gay, and this is probaby the nicest place I've ever had dinner. I'm having a good time. Does it bother you?"

Dave sat back a moment and thought about it. He smiled at the young agent.

"No, I guess it doesn't." He said. "Great, here comes our food."

Rene put down two plates of sliced grilled lobster tails served over a bed of risotto in a mild curry cream sauce.

Rossi pointed his fork at Reid. "Please refrain from telling me about the sex life of the crustaceans, ok?"

Reid laughed, not something Rossi heard him do too often; it sounded nice.

The two men at the table behind Reid lifted their wine glasses in a toast toward Rossi. Rossi returned the gesture.

From then on the rest of the evening went better than he expected. Rossi entertained Reid with tales of the early days of the BAU and the exploits of himself, Gideon and Max Ryan. Reid talked to him about the case he had to be in court for tomorrow.

Rossi was having a great time, he felt relaxed and he didn't have to hold his stomach in the entire evening the way he would have on a date. David finally began to see that Spencer was more than a living breathing search engine.

Dessert came in the form of a chocolate souffle. Rossi begged off but Reid enthusiastically dug in. Rossi smiled at the young profiler's tremendous sweet tooth_. 'My mother would have loved to feed this one.' _He thought.

Reid was downing his third cup of coffee when David accidently knocked his eyeglass case on the floor. He bent down to get it when his foot got caught on his chair leg and he fell forward. Reid immediately reached over and grabbed his hands. Rossi looked up There was an audible gasp from the other diners. He realized now he was on bended knee in front of Spencer holding hands Everyone's eyes were upon them. Reid's mouth began to twitch. He knew everyone was waiting for him to say something. He said the first thing that popped into his head.

"Uh umm, Yes?"

The room broke into spontanious applause.

Rossi jumped to his feet, grabbed Reid by the arm and started to hot foot it out of the restaurant with Reid in tow. He passed by a teary Rene.

"You have my card info, give yourself a nice 30% tip." Rossi said as he rushed by.

The two gentlemen who had sat behind Reid both smiled and shook their heads.

"That old boy better pace himself, _that_ might just kill him." said the bald one.

"Ah, but what a way to go." His companion snickered.

Rossi pulled Reid out the door, and the last thing he heard before they left was: "Hey, wasn't that David Rossi?"

&&&&&&&&&&&

Rossi drove Reid back home. Spencer got out of the car, he bent down to talk to Dave.

"Thanks for dinner, it was great, I could have stayed for another cup of coffee though." He said in mock complaint.

"Are you kidding? I was afraid if we stayed any longer someone would have jumped up to marry us."

Reid just grinned at him, "Goodnight David, drive safe, I still need to study that file."

"That should take a good three minutes," He teased "Goodnight Reid, see you tomorrow."

Rossi drove off. He might not have realized it, but he smiled the rest of the way home.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

FIN.

AN: This is a silly story that popped into my head one day. Please read and review. I like feedback even on the goofy stuff. The last chapter is the following day at the BAU.


	3. Day After With Dave

**Day After with Dave**

I do not own criminal minds.

_'We are always the same age inside'_ Gertrude Stein.

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Reid! hey Reid wake up!" Derek Morgan snapped his fingers in front of Reid.

Reid blinked and smiled at his co-worker. "Sorry, just a little tired, had kind of a late night."

"Ooh, my man." Morgan winked at Prentiss; teasing Reid was an irresistable temptation Morgan could not pass up.

"And what keeps the young Dr Reid up into the wee hours? I called you around ten and there was no answer?"

"I was out having dinner with David" Reid stated matter of factly.

Morgan frowned. "David? you mean Rossi?"

"Yeah, we went to _'Jacques Select Bistro' _It was real nice."

Morgan raised his eyebrows _'Jacques Select Bistro" _He repeated.

"My mother has been trying to get a reservation there for months, she's on a 4 month waiting list." Said an impressed Prentiss.

"Next time tell your mother to mention my name" Said an amused voice. Prentiss looked up and saw that Rossi had entered the bullpen.

"Rossi, Reid here says you two had dinner together?" Said Morgan, still not finished in playing his little game of cat and mouse with Reid.

Rossi gave an affirmative nod but his eyes were mainly on Spencer. He felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Reid made eye contact, then bit his lower lip in an effort not to laugh. He quickly looked away, Rossi did the same. The memory of the accidental proposal came flooding back and neither one of them wanted to lose it.

"Ah, it looks like there's a fresh pot of coffee over there, excuse me." Rossi said and left for the break area.

"Coffee sounds good." Reid stood up and followed David.

Both Morgan and Prentiss looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"Did you see that?" She asked Morgan.

Morgan nodded."You don't have to be a profiler to know that was wierd." Morgan held up his coffee cup." Feel like a refill?"

"Definitely."

&&&&&&&&&&

Rossi and Reid stood side by side in front of the coffee maker.

"Thanks again for dinner." Reid said as he poured a generous amount of sugar into his coffee.

"Don't mention it, you're good company." Replied Rossi.

Reid was flattered "Thank you, your're good company too" He noticed David wincing slightly.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned.

Rossi looked rather sheepish. "Oh, old age really, I kind of hurt my knees when took a nose dive off my chair last night; I'll be fine. By the way I want to apologize for yelling at you to swallow the stupid osyster, it was a bit rude and.."

He was interupted by Morgan suddenly pushing between them to reach for the coffee pot.

"Excuse me, just getting a refill for us." Morgan stepped in and refilled two coffee cups. He handed one to Prentiss and they both sat down at a nearby table. They made small talk and pretended not to listen to the conversation behind them.

Reid waved his hand. "No, don't apologize, when you told me to swallow I should have swallowed. I tend to over analyse things when I'm trying something for the first time."

"I can get a little bossy and overexcited sometimes." Admited Dave

Reid smiled "I bow to your experience."

All pretence at making small talk stopped. Prentiss and Morgan were only listening now.

"So" said Dave. "You never did say if you liked it."

"Not sure, I think it's something I'd have to try again."

Rossi winced again.

Reid looked at him sympatheticly. "Really sorry your knees are so sore"

"My own fault, I tend forget I'm not 25 anymore."

"I'll buy dinner next time"

Rossi smirked at him."Great, just next time we'll make it a steak place. No flowers, no music and definitely no marriage proposals."

"Reid Laughed, "It's a deal"

The two men parted and headed back to their desks. Morgan and Prentiss remained at the table speechless. They barely noticed when Garcia, the brightly dressed blond dynamo sat down at the table with them.

"Wanna hear some good gossip?" She said with a big grin on her face.

Prentiss and Morgan merely stared.

Taking no notice of their silence she continued."My friend Macy works as a hostess at _Jacques Select Bistro _during the lunch hour and she told me that a few days ago she took a reservation from our very own David Rossi. She said he went to great pains to make sure everything was terribly romantic: it was, he said _'For a very special person'_. Either he's in love or he wants to get laid really bad."

Their expressions did not change.

"What's wrong with you two?" Demanded Garcia. " It's just a little harmless gossip"

"Fine!, I get it, now you're above gossip, no profiling, no gossip. you two are starting to act like Hotch" Penelope got up and flounced off to her lair.

&&&&&&&&&&

It was mid morning and Morgan couldn't get the conversation he overheard between Reid and Rossi out of his mind. He knew Spencer would be leaving to go to court with Hotch soon. If he was going to talk to him he'd better do it now. Prentiss was off with JJ somewhere ,so they had a little privacy. He casually walked over to Reid's desk. Reid was busy organizing his messenger bag.

"Hi Kid, I just wanted to talk with you for a minute."

Spencer looked up at his friend. "Ok, but I have to go soon"

Morgan looked very serious.

"I kinda overheard your conversation with Rossi this morning."

"Oh yeah."

"You were talking about trying new things." Morgan said. He felt slightly uncomfortable.

Reid immediately thought of the raw osyters and scrunched up his face."Oh that, well between you and me it wasn't really my thing."

"What! why did you do it then?"

"I didn't want to hurt David's feelings and spit it out, it's something he really liked and hey, he did pay for dinner and let me eat the whole dessert"

Morgan had to take a step back, he was shocked.

"Kid, you can't think that way, if it was something you didn't want; you should of said so!"

Reid looked at his friend completely perplexed, since when did Morgan get so upset over appetizers.

"Morgan, it's ok, though I admit I practically had to drink an entire bottle of wine just to get the taste out of my mouth." Reid looked up at him with large innocent eyes. He wondered if Morgan might be a little jealous. Perhaps _he_ secretly yearned to eat dinner with Rossi. Maybe he should invite Morgan along the next time they ate out.

Morgan took him by the shoulders."Reid do you want me to talk to Rossi?"

"What, about that? don't bother him, he was on his knees last night and he's a little sore."

Morgan almost felt like crying. How could a genius be so clueless?

"I think you should talk to Hotch."

"Talk to me about what?" Hotch asked as he walked up to the agents with several files in his hand.

"My night with Rossi." volunteered Spencer.

"Ah yes, Dave told me all about it." He smirked at Reid. "I told him next time I want pictures."

Reid laughed.

"You ready to go Reid?"

"Yup."

The unit chief and young agent walked out of the bullpen together. Morgan sank down into the nearest chair and put his head down on a desk. The world was not making sense today.

&&&&&&&&&

FIN.

AN: Ok, I know that was really could you read and review anyway? I'd really appreciate it.


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